Surprising finding of a primary pericardial mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Surprising finding of a primary pericardial mesothelioma, by J. Vavalle, T.M. Bashore, I. Klem (The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, 2010).

The study

• Authors: J. Vavalle, T.M. Bashore, I. Klem
• Journal: The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
• Published: 2010;26(6):625-7
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 7 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In this report, we describe a case of primary pericardial mesothelioma, which is an extremely rare tumor arising from mesothelial cells lining the pericardium and is associated with a dismal prognosis.

In plain English

This was a case report describing one patient with primary pericardial mesothelioma, a tumor of the lining around the heart that the authors called extremely rare. The patient was a 76-year-old man with no history of heart disease who was admitted to hospital with a gradual decline in mental status. A brain MRI showed small lesions suspicious of embolic events, which led doctors to examine his heart. Cardiac MRI showed a large, multinodular mass within the pericardial space encasing the heart and the systemic and pulmonary veins, without critical compression. There was a clear border between the tumor and the heart muscle, suggesting no deep invasion. The patient did not have a primary pleural mass. A CT-guided needle biopsy led to a diagnosis of primary sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma. The article reported that he had a history of remote occupational asbestos exposure but gave no fiber type or job. He chose palliative care only and died at home a week later. The authors said it was unclear whether the tumor was related to his presenting symptoms or was an unrelated finding.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (single patient)
• Who was studied: one 76-year-old man without a history of cardiac disease, admitted with gradual decline in mental status
• Exposure: remote occupational asbestos exposure; no fiber type, job or dose given
• Main results:
  • Brain MRI showed small lesions suspicious of embolic events, which prompted cardiac evaluation
  • Cardiac MRI showed a large multinodular mass in the pericardial space encasing the heart and the systemic and pulmonary veins, without critical compression
  • A clear border between tumor and normal heart muscle suggested no deep invasion of the myocardium
  • The patient did not have a primary pleural mass
  • Biopsy led to a diagnosis of primary sarcomatoid malignant mesothelioma
  • The patient chose palliative care only and died at home a week after diagnosis
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that their report describes the imaging characteristics of this extremely rare tumor
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated it was unclear whether the tumor was linked to the patient's presenting symptoms (possibly through increased clotting tendency) or was an unrelated finding

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Pericardial Mesothelioma, Mesothelial Cells, Pericardium, Prognosis.

Related studies

• Primary sarcomatoid malignant pericardial mesothelioma — D. Jiang, M. Kong, et al. (2013)
• Three-year survival after surgery for primary malignant pericardial mesothelioma: report of a case — K. Fujita, M. Hata, et al. (2014)
• Cardiac tamponade as the initial manifestation of primary pericardial mesothelioma — M. Stein, A. Neuman, et al. (1995)
• Surgical pathology of primary cardiac and pericardial tumors — C. Basso, M. Valente, et al. (1997)
• Primary malignant pericardial sarcomatoid mesothelioma: An autopsy report — H. Muta, Y. Sugita, et al. (2017)
• A case of primary pericardial mesothelioma detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT — F. Aga, Y. Yamamoto, et al. (2012)

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